AmaWaterwaysReviews of amawaterways.com

Took a 7 day cruise with extended family in a larger group. The furnishings on the ship are gorgeous and comfortable, the excursions lovely and Maung who did our housekeeping was second to none. That’s where any positives ended. The rest of the staff varied between ultra friendly to downright hostile so much so that I often avoided ordering a drink - and I am someone who often gets told that I’m the smiliest person people have ever met. Food, although very well presented, was mediocre and the 2 vegetarians in our group were served meat on more than one occasion (wrong order). For their Chef’s table evening, they were served bland salad and chewy spring rolls as alternatives. Most of our group, as with most passengers were American. Being British myself, in a conversation with Dinu, hotel manager, I told him that my father was originally Lebanese and he responded ‘I’ve been there, Lebanese are great - they are nothing like Arabs which makes them great and which is what I like about them and some even have blue eyes’. Telling someone so openly something this racist was shocking and I needed to calm my partner down who wanted to complain about this comment - this is the hotel manager who should know better. He then went on to say ‘My favourite place is Israel in the Middle East, and they are better than the Palestinians who just cause trouble’. I couldn’t believe this man was getting political with absolutely no exchange of a political nature from us. Finally, by the end of the cruise, at least half the passengers were showing signs of sickness and on the last morning we found out that staff knew of Covid cases and didn’t provide tests, masks or warnings. Given most of the passengers were elderly and a few who had recent cancer treatment, this kind of outbreak should be taken more seriously. Our whole group tested positive a day or two following the end of the cruise.

After taking a wonderful cruise down the Danube, five years ago, my husband and I decided to take another cruise with Ama waterways. This time we took the Rhine cruise from Basil, Switzerland to Amsterdam, with a pre-cruise trip in Lake Como. I am sad to say, that we were both incredibly disappointed. It seems that AMAwaterways has drastically changed… The food was terrible, absolutely inedible. The menu was completely unappealing, and it was difficult to find anything that you wanted to order. The rolls that were served on day one were fresh…. with each day, the rolls became harder and staler. I am gluten-free, and they gave me a piece of gluten-free bread with each meal by day three the bread was so hard and so stale that I could not eat it. And even though I told the company I was gluten-free two months ahead of the cruise as I filled out their long, required paperwork, they were still unable to provide so much is a cookie at snack time that would be gluten-free. Every day the cookie jar was put out and I was told by my husband and friends, that the cookies were as hard as rocks and tasted like cardboard. But the most disgusting food were the hamburgers! They were filled with gritty substances and fellow diners needed to use their napkins to take large pieces out of their mouth. It was revolting. The ship’s entertainment was cringe-worthy….(an accordion player). The cabins were immaculate as was the ship….the staff could not have tried harder to please, or worked harder….but they were understaffed in the dining room and meals were super long…sometimes, there would be 20 minute gaps between courses….painful! The price for AMA is much more expensive than Viking and other most other competitors….I would not recommend AMA. If Tauck is the equivalent of The Four Seasons….AMA charges Marriott prices and feels more like a Holiday Inn Express. (Serving food that is not up the standards of a BurgerKing).

We booked a Nile Cruise with AmaWaterways and we’re told that the deposit would be refunded if we had insurance. We took out insurance. Before making the final payment Covid was still a concern so we thought it better to cancel. The insurance company, AIG, refused to issue a refund! We always enjoyed AnaWaterways and had four great cruises but based on our recent experience we will never book a cruise with them again! Our advice to anyone considering booking with AMA, DON’T BOOK! David Olsen

We booked a Danube Christmas river cruise, along with another couple, on the AMABella on 2/11/20, departing Budapest on 12/5/22. We took advantage of a cabin upgrade offer and were both booked in AA class cabins. We heard nothing further from Amawaterways (except confirmation of our final payment) until we boarded 12/5/22. Before heading to the ship on 12/5/22 we were told by another passenger that the ship had been changed to the AMAStella. We never did get any notification from AMA of the ship change and several passengers taxied around the dock area for some time trying to find the AMABella. Upon boarding we were informed that both bookings had been downgraded 2 cabin levels to category BA rooms (smaller sq ft). Ours was ultimately only downgraded 1 level to a AB class cabin. The other couple remained in a BA class cabin. No one on board could explain why we had been picked for the downgrade. All we heard was talk to corporate. Some crew members told us the ship change had happened more than a week ago. We had been on another AMA cruise, same itinerary, pre-pandemic. And we were told by the AMAStella hotel manager that all covid restrictions had been lifted. On this cruise there was no breakfast buffet. If you wanted water with breakfast you had to order it and it was delivered in a small glass. If you wanted more, same process. They did not refill water glasses in the morning. There was no dessert table at lunch or dinner. On the past cruise there was a dessert table you could go to make an ice cream sundae or pickup whatever dessert you wanted. Not anymore. We felt the menu was overly embellished, more style over substance. Portions were small. Steak entrée was small and tough. Chicken entrée was smaller than amount of chicken in their classic salad. It was like the whole dinning experience had been cheapened. On the positive side the staff tried to do a good job. The tours were good. The ship was clean and well maintained. We had booked directly with AMA. I called our booking agent about the cabin problem on 12/5/22. He was unaware of the problem but ultimately said "it would be made right". Ultimately AMA Guest Relations made us a settlement offer that we felt was insulting. Given the cabin downgrade, the the fact we were not notified of the downgrade before boarding and hence not given the opportunity to cancel or change our booking, and the meager settlement that was offered, we will no longer be cruising with AMA. Clearly we were not valued customers of AMA given that cabin priority was given other guests even though we had booked over 2.5 years ago. Ignoring the cabin problem, in our opinion the cruise was simply not good value for the money.

I have traveled on AmaWaterways last year on the Danube and this year on the Rhine. I enjoyed both ships. However and this is a big however, the food is mediocre at best. Breakfast the same every day and definitely lacks in variety. Special of the day such as Pancakes came in a pair the size of silver dollar and they were cold. Fresh fruit now sliced. No cereals. It was atrocious. They try to be a gourmet priority which comes up short because they fail miserably. Ordered Chicken Schnitzel and it was a piece of chicken breaded thinly and served hard. Steaks were also thin, tougher to chew and a disappointment as well. They include wine and beer and champagne with lunch and dinner. If you want a diet coke in mid-afternoon they charge for it. This is hardly a 5-star recommendation. I will never travel AMA again and I had 2 other cruises booked for my 3rd and 4th. If their food service was even halfway between Celebrity and Regent they would have something to brag about. Dismal.

We just returned from a Amawaterways Romantic Danube trip. We had an exceptional TA. From the moment we stepped on board everyone was so friendly. We did the pre cruise in Prague where we met our cruise director Nocoleta, she was fabulous. They are all about Health and Wellness so all the food was perfectly proportioned. They did have an exercise guru who although I didn’t take his classes help me get a yoga mat each day for private yoga time. I felt like all the walking tours was enough exercise. I was in the gentle tours because I need a knee replacement, they really made sure we were well taken care of. And yes there was some ship noise but really very little, usually when they docked early in the morning and had to use the thrusters. Nicoleta was like a magic elf she seemed to be everywhere herding all her sheep, and I know it was like herding cats. They hired really knowledgeable guides who covered ancient history and current economics for all these countries. All the castles are amazing and yes some you had to take a bus to some out in the country, but what a beautiful countryside, they provided comfortable buses. Our ship the Amalea is well decorated, and comfortable. This cruise was comfy clothing the whole way. The staff, the wait staff the housekeeping, the Captain, Jerry our hotel manager and Chef Garrett were all very available, very friendly and super nice. Many of the different ships dock next to you, after seeing some of those ships , we were happy to have picked the Amalea.

This river cruise line was recommended by our TA and we were very disappointed all around with our first river cruise. The food was marginal at best, service could have been better (except for 3 outstanding employees) and the woman working the front 'welcoming desk' was not happy to be there; we heard others voice feedback about why is she working there! As for the excursions, they were pretty packed and many required hour long bus rides to cities. Then we had to deal with 'slow walkers' who didn't pay attention to the 'active tour' detail versus taking the 'gentle walkers' tour. The the average age of passengers on this particular cruise was over 70 - we weren't expecting a 'floating senior citizen home' !! And last item, for any of you readers thinking of choosing AMA and this particular route, the only night we (and quite a few other passengers) got a good night's sleep was when the ship was stationary; the captain increased the speed at night (obviously when he thought many would be asleep) but the walls of the cabin and the bed were rattling and vibrating all night making it impossible to get to sleep; and we were on deck two near mid ship! If we ever decide to try another river cruise, it will be with Tauck or Uniworld and a different itinerary. p.s. and the entertainment was pretty much 'non-existent - one night they brought on board a singing duo - they were fun but the rest of the nights consisted of 'elevator music' by a man playing an electric piano - disappointing there also!

My wife's parents took a trip with this company where they departed 9/24/2022. They unfortunately contracted COVID by the time they arrived in Bilbao, Spain, and had to return to the US on 9/27/2022. AmaWaterways booked them a flight on Lufthansa/United from BIO to MUN to ORD to DEN for $2,800/person in economy. I did a quick search online and a round trip, with departure the same day, on the same airlines, with one fewer stop - BIO to MUN to DEN was $1,100/person. This seems like they were scammed out of thousands of dollars. I would like AmaWaterways to respond to this exorbitant charge.